First Rafale For India Being Flight-tested In France, Only One Will Arrive Custom-Made

As the Rafale deal continues to be at the centre of a political maelstrom, The Indian Express has learnt that only one of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft will be supplied from France to India until the end of the contract period in April 2022 with India-Specific Enhancements.

The balance 35 aircraft will start being delivered to India beginning September 2019 but they will be incorporated with these enhancements in India itself after the contract period at the rate of seven aircraft per month.

In a reply given in Rajya Sabha in July, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the “delivery of 36 Rafale aircraft in a fly-away condition along with associated equipment and weapons will commence from September 2019 and will be completed by April 2022.”

However, it will be only in September 2022 that the full complement of 36 Rafale aircraft will be available with IAF with the India-Specific Enhancements in place. Read More